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A MAJOR HANG-UP Ilve spent 22 years in maximum security facilities where the culture has a texture unique to that environment. Extremes are embraced when moderation would prove the more productive path. Violence, dominance and emasculation are the languages which most cons come to believe that they must be fluent in to communicate our strength and declare our manhood. I've been here in New Lisbon, a medium security facility for 2 years now. It's not nearly as yiolent as max because ...

Robert Taliaferro, 150555 JCI P.O. Box 233 Black River Falls, WI 54615-0233 A.MODEL OF FUTILITY: The PLRA and Wisconsin's Inmate Complaint System by Robert E. Taliaferro, Jr. Introduction In 1996 Congress passed the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) in response to a few highly publicized--but isolated and over—exaggerated--instances of prisoner abuse of the judicial process. The PLRA was designed as a tool to curb those abuses by making it more diffi- cult for prisoners to seek judicia...

"No person is a criminal, a person is taught to be a criminal" (ala, Mandela) At this writing, I am now into the twenty-eighth year of this incarceration, and I say, this length of time I'm sure it must constitute me as being certified, qualified to say something of major importance and of validity about prison due to my experience. The French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre said that, "Freedom" could not help but to be Free, which throughout all these years, I have come...

"Benevolence" As I sit here contemplating what I would like to share with the masses, I'm left reflecting on years past. Some ask how I've been able to sustain my mental stability in such dismay times. As one must imagine life in captivity and the bellicosity this environment brings can cause a person to feel indifferent from humanity and civility. Prison tends to remove those simply human attributes and instead replace them with an abysmal, diabolic, malicious nature, ess...

Jevon Jackson #299078 Page 1 of 4 DOES PRISON MAKE PEOPLE WORSE? (The Education Question) What my 20+ years of imprisonment has taught me is that prison is a cruel, neurotic tiger that is bent on destroying you. This animal, this beast that I live in, thrives on the illogical and irrational impulses of it's wavering political objectives. For one election cycle it's Let'sGet-Tough-On-Crime, with the end result being prison overcrowding and shortages on basic resources (such as e...

JEVON JACKSON Hell is a Prison Guard / Page 1 of 4 HELL IS A PRISON GUARD Let me begin by saying that MOST prison guards and staff who work in correctional institutions are decent and respectable people. The majority of staff accept that their position is simply a job, a means of employment by which to provide for their family and their household. They want no part in the propagation of the cruel brutality that Prison tends to distribute generously to its captives. The majority of staff just ...

Ken Sherman Wisconsin Department of Corrections Hamilton College\The American Prison Writing Archive (APWA) Here is another brief overview into the drastic conditions and behavior is that us as inmates and offenders have to suffer thru. This last year has been Hell for others and me. First off, the WI.DOC has been severely overcrowded. I have had to file a legal action on behalf of others and myself for a transfer that was against state laws and codes. I've watched the medical system her...

I CHOSE THE ROBERT FROST ROAD By Ras Uhuru 8-6-2018 1. It's been long enough, that I don't care for accuracy of the years. A bit shy of three decades. THE ROAD I TRAVELLED! 2. In America, the land of the brave, the land of the free. It sucks to have to live like me. A life that is less valued. Because you are prinicipled. And chose to be you. THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED! 3. America the Beautiful... The birthplace of free speech and, expression. That is until you opt to use it. Then you ...

JUVENILE JUSTICE? There has been a shift in the dispensation of juvenile justice. Everyone saw it coming. Many people demanded it. While some, not blinded by their pain and anger, were more thoughtful than others and asked the questions that others would be forced to asked years later after the die haﬁ been cast. For as long as I can remember, adults in the ‘hood had sought to have young kids either take the rap for offenses which the adults themselves had committed, or have the kiﬂs actually...

To: The American Prison Writing Archive Attn: Chelsea From: Mr. Marquis O Gilliam 330190 Re: Submitting a new perspective. Liberating Toxic Masculinity (A Prisoner's Narrative) Science tells us that each of us has enough energy within himself to run a universe if we knew how to release and control. - Reflect Flee, fleet, and run from the dilapidated mind swimming unconsciously, in lost unfulfilled dreams. One must break free and refuse the grasp of immured hands, looking to wring out any...

Me Too: Recognizing That I Have , Been Part Of The Problem By Dominee Meek (OSCI) Oshkosh, WI Lately, there have been many stories in the news regarding sexual harassment and sexual abuse, primarily perpetrated by men against women. When these stories first started coming to light I was quick to point the finger of condemnation at those accused of these acts; however, to paraphrase an old saying, every time I pointed my finger at someone else, there were three pointing back at me. One evening...

My name is Andrae L. Bridges and I currently reside at the Fox Lake Correctional Institution here in Fox Lake, Wisconsin. I'm a 39 year old African American man who entered the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (WDOC) as an angry, hateful, self—destructive, misguided, 16 year old little boy. In 1992, just six days after my 16th birthday I was arrested and charged with First Degree Intentional Homicide—Party to a Crime. I was waived into adult court and subsequently sentenced to life wi...

To: The American Prison Writing Archive C/O Hamilton College: 198 College Hill Road Clinton, NY 13323-1218 From: Dr. Laverne Ware II AKA "Mister Yemen" Pen Name The Dodge County Detention Facility 216 West Center Street Juneau, WI 53039 RE: Did you in fact, receive my first essay/writing? Dear A.P.W.A: I got a report that you were informed of my query. Only I am confused at the fact that it is July and I wrote you sometime in April!? Please let me know if you did get my letter? Did ...

﻿ On October 13, 2014 the Wisconsin Department of Corrections announced a new tax on the family and friends of the states prisoners, as wall as the prisoners themselves. The "Canteen Hobby Catalog" program. Because the program is designated as "canteen" the policy mandates that items being sold "will be marked up approximately 10% over cost before any required sales tax is collected" (see DAI policy #309.52.01, highlighted). This mark up is collected by the contr...

Ken Sherman Wisconsin Prison Life Well first off the Prison System has changed from early 2000's. Now half of guys coming in are for drug offenses, and need treatment, not incarceration. Now I just got transferred back from Milwaukee Secure Detention facility because Dodge intake was overcrowded. Well while at Milwaukee Secure, I've watched/seen guards have racial discrimination against whites, punishments, job placement all favored toward black inmates. I lost a good friend at Milw...

SLAVERY IN WISC@Nﬁ£NH by dominic Marak State Senator Lena TayTor pTans to reintroduce a change to the Wisconsin Constitution, which wouid ban sTavery in the state, when the Wisconsin Legisiature reconvenes in January 2017 STavery is permitted in Wisconsin as a punishment for crime under the Wisconsin and the United Sstates Constitutions. The Wisconsin Department of Corrections toid the Miiwaukee Gournai Sentinei inmates "are not required to work," except "as a penaity for vioia...

Something to Think About By Dominee Meek (OSCI) Oshkosh, WI Picture this: Tomorrow you wake up and discover that the infamous, yet to be convicted James Alex Fields, the man arrested for death of the heroic Heather Healy and the injuring of 19 others in Charlottesville, Va., has been moved onto your cell block; what do you do? What if to make matters worse, you're told that he's going to be your new cellie (or for my non- incarcerated brothers/sisters, your next door neighbor) ; he&...

Photograph byJeffWidener/AP STANDING MY GROUND by Muslim Mansa Lutalo lyapo a/k/a Rufus West #225213 - January 14, 2014 i would rather die on my feet than live on my knees. No longer brainwashed, I've washed my brain of all those submissive decrees. You know, the ones like, "Turn the other cheek" and "Never disobey your [slave] master/' Knowing you are headed for disaster. They still give you wheels to get there faster. On the shoulders of giants defiantly is where I ...

WHAT IS IUSTICE Throughout life it is safe to say that everyone wants to feel loved, wanted, and accepted .While everyone is unique, we can all learn from one another if we choose to see outside ourselves, when even the bully in life wants to be loved, wanted, and accepted. So the bully goes to extremes to feel as though he or she belongs. Meanwhile the bully creates a huge recipe for disaster. While most bullies feel socially rejected somewhere in life, they feel the need to hurt others and ...

Ye, I’m the Criminal ......... ., Th . _., g I lay awake often wondering how it is this great nation of ours has gotten so far off track with its criminal justice system. In 1980, the federal prison system held approximately 25,000 inmates and at its highest point, 225,000 inmates. Currently, in 2018, the population is at 181,000. The criminal justice “ -r 1 v. I - system is no longer aboutjustice but about big business and bottom lines. It is no longer necessary for you to be caught committi...

3/7/18 Your true character is revealed not by how you act when life goes your way, but how you act when the bottom falls out. — Reflection The American Prison Writing Archive... To Whom It May Concern Thank you for reaching out and letting me know my previous writing wasn't the perspective you'll were looking for. I do apologize on my end for being so callow in my representation, far as offering something like that. I have personally taken some much needed reflection on my current e...